“When I played him the album, I could gauge his response not on what he said, but what his vibe was,” he said. “I linked up with Rich Kleiman and he said he was with Jay-Z later that night. Out of nowhere, Jay said, ‘So Cole got a classic. That motherfucker.’”

As for getting that elusive verse from Hov, Cole says that it may or may not make the final cut - but that it won’t make or break the album.

“We’ll see. It’s very possible that he might not be on it. I feel like it’s dope as hell though,” he explains. “The whole world knows that J. Cole is waiting on a Jay-Z verse, but if it don’t happen, it don’t happen. But how ill is it that the album is called The Sideline Story, which is a metaphor for me trying to get off the bench, and I’m waiting for the nod from the coach?”